Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,402 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.47.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $219.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $218.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.85 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 89.59%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.